compatibility – Paul's Tech Talk

Fix Shutdown Problems in Vista!

PaulDecember 10, 2008

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In the Patch Tuesday update, Microsoft quietly released the patch to fix Windows Vista machine shut problems. This patch should of came sooner.

KB957388

Update for Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista

Install this update to resolve a set of known application compatibility issues with Windows Server 2008. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer.

This was not a critical update and it seems to resolve so many issues with compatibility. One thing it seemed to fix on my system has been the shutdown time. It is now quite fast, it would normally take me 2 to 3 mins to shutdown, now it does it in less than a Minute. So if you’ve not installed this update please install it soon. I would like to know if people are seeing the same thing I am. I’ve found a great resource on fixing it if you are still having problem, it talks about how to check your system performance. Although this is been doing it lately with these programs not loaded or even running, they still seem to cause problems so now I get the feeling it has to do with legacy programs. This should fix most of the problem with older programs.

Upcoming Patch Tuesday

PaulDecember 8, 20081 Reply

[ad#ad2-right]I wanted to get prepared for the updates for this Tuesday and I thought I’d go through them and list what Microsoft said about each. These are what’s been said on Technet and I am sure there will be more. Each one of these don’t look to serious but I will post Tuesday if there is anything I’ve missed on this post. As you might know this is not set in stone but just the direction of Microsoft for this Months Release.

KB955839

Update for Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003, and Windows XP

Install this update to resolve an issue that is caused by revised daylight saving time laws in many countries. This update enables your computer to automatically adjust the computer clock on the correct date in 2008. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer. This update is provided to you and licensed under the Windows Server 2008 License Terms.

[ad#ad2-left]KB957388

Update for Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista

Install this update to resolve a set of known application compatibility issues with Windows Server 2008. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer.

KB890830

Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool

Microsoft released the Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool to help remove specific prevalent malicious software from computers that are running Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, or Windows 2000. After you download the Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool, it runs one time to check your computer for inflection by specific prevalent malicious software (including Blaster, Sasser, and Mydoom) and helps remove any infection it finds. Microsoft releases a new version of the tool every month.

[ad#ad2-right]KB905866

Update for Windows Mail Junk E-mail Filter [November 2008] (KB905866)

Install this update for Windows Mail to revise the definition files that are used to detect e-mail messages that should be considered junk e-mail or that may contain phishing content. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer. This update is provided to you and licensed under the Windows Vista License Terms.

I am sure there are going to be others but right now this looks like the normal things Microsoft sends out. I am sure they are keeping a tight lid on the really serious stuff until last second so I’ll have to report the really important stuff Tuesday.

Windows 7 will sport Direct X 10 Compliance!

PaulDecember 3, 20081 Reply

The new feature is called WARP10, for “Windows Advanced Rasterization Platform,” and it’s essentially a DX10-compliant, software-only rasterizer that was written by Microsoft; it runs directly on the CPU. In a situation where a DX10 app needs to run but can’t find DX10-compliant hardware, it will run on WARP10, albeit very, very slowly. Ultimately, you can think of WARP10 as a “software DX10 GPU” that will exist as a fallback in Windows.

[via Arstechnica]

[ad#ad2-left-1]This will make Windows 7 work more smoothly with Windows XP and Vista games. This looks to be like having more compatibility with the older games. When Vista came out they were complaining about not being able to play games on Vista. Vista has been really updated with being able to play games. People are starting to play games on a Vista machine. This is also a step for Windows 7 to be one that Microsoft, being that they are trying to get the next O/s to look like an Angel probably. What I expect is Microsoft will advertise about Windows 7 will be gamer friendly. This is a move on Microsoft to get gamers on board with this release and to try to get people to forget about Vista.

[ad#ad2-right]Having said that here’s some things that will be most likely be Advertised with Windows 7 when it comes out. Microsoft will want it to be game friendly, User Account Control to be less obtrusive, and program compatibility. These the main points to get people to start buying Microsoft’s products. Microsoft should be worried because of Apples comments about how you should use an Anti-virus for Macintosh’s. This is definitely worrying Microsoft. It means Microsoft has an competitor that Hackers are trying to exploit. I would be willing to guess that Microsoft is worried people are switching to Apple products. These are just guesses but I am quite certain Microsoft is really worried. What do you think, do you think it will happen?

Running old programs on Vista (tips and tricks)

PaulAugust 20, 2008

So We’ve talked about how to get Vista to shut down better. So I thought we talk about getting Windows XP programs to run on Vista and be more stable. You can do this with Windows XP, ME, 2000, NT,. and 95 programs.

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Run the program in compatibility mode — This is something Vista comes with now for running old programs in Vista. To do this you will have to do some minor things. Go to where the program is and right click on the program. Select properties>compatibility. Select “Run this program in compatibility mode for:” Select windows Operating System that you think would work with the program.

Run the program as Administrator — This is a really good tip and trick to sometimes get programs to run with vista. It goes hand in hand with the last one. Right click on the program and select “Run as Administrator”. I find some old programs don’t know about the kernel protection in Vista and you need to give them permission to use the kernel for the program to work.

Give the program special access — Yes this one takes a little skill but should fix some of the problems with vista and old programs. Right click on program and select properties. Select security, and then select the group you want to associate with it. I always suggest putting it in the administrator group because of the problems with Vista and the kernel.

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These few tips and tricks will greatly increease the likely hood of a old program to run in Vista. Now remember if you have a Vist x64 Version you might need to do the Run as Administrator more than not. I am not sure why I just know it is sometimes required. Let me know what other tips and tricks you use with Vista and I’ll be sure to pass them along!!